Issues
Jewell Reiterates Commitment to Greater Sage-grouse Protection. This week, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell emphasized the federal government’s responsibility to make a decision on whether to list the Greater sage-grouse under the federal Endangered Species Act by September 30, 2015. Her remarks came in response to a previous letter from Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper regarding the Interior Department’s timeline for determining whether to list the grouse, despite attempts by Congress to block a federal listing. Dated Monday, the Secretary’s letter was sent to both Governor Hickenlooper and Wyoming Governor Matt Mead. From her remarks:
“The rider attached to H.R. 83 concerning several grouse species has no effect on our efforts to develop and implement state and Federal plans and to build partnerships to incentivize conservation. Further, it does not affect the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (Service) court-ordered obligation to make a determination by September 30, 2015, as to whether the greater sage-grouse does or does not warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act.”
The Secretary also restated the administration’s plans to continue Greater sage-grouse conservation efforts, highlighting the conservation efforts that are already underway:
“We are steadfastly moving ahead with our efforts to conserve sagebrush habitat and advance the unprecedented collaboration happening across 11 states, leading up to the court-ordered determination. The Department intends to spend the $15 million appropriated for greater sage-grouse conservation to complete the BLM land management plans and implement actions critical to sagebrush conservation and restoration such as juniper removal, fire pre-suppression and restoration efforts, native seed collection and banking, among others.”
As E&E News (sub req’d) reported, Secretary Jewell said in December she would act “with urgency” to meet the September listing deadline. Earlier in January, she issued a Secretarial Order creating a task force, led by Department of Interior Deputy Secretary Mike Connor, responsible for working with “other federal agencies, states, tribes, local entities and non-governmental groups on fire management and habitat restoration activities” to protect the Greater sage-grouse.
Lesser Prairie Chicken Amendment Fails in Senate. The U.S. Senate voted on an amendment Wednesday to keep the Lesser prairie chicken listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Sponsored by Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), the amendment proposed removing the bird from the federal government’s endangered species list. Sen. Moran’s amendment was one of over one hundred proposed amendments to a Senate bill approving the Keystone XL pipeline.
“It is time for Congress to act to protect rural Kansas from the consequences of the listing of the lesser prairie chicken,” Senator Moran said in a press release last week announcing the amendment. “Regulations due to the listing that dictate how people manage their land and resources are yet another example of unnecessary intrusion into private lives and businesses by the federal government.”
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) decided to designate the Lesser prairie chicken—which also resides in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Colorado—as threatened last year, in a move that ruffled stakeholders across the region. Senator Moran commented after the vote that he would continue to push for delisting the bird.
Obama Administration Proposes Protections for Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. On Sunday, the Obama administration announced a proposal to ban drilling in large portions of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska by declaring that land “Wilderness.” The ANWR comprises a total of 1.4 million acres, and is home to both indigenous people and endangered species such as polar bears and Porcupine caribou. The coastal plain, located between the Brooks Range mountains and the Arctic Ocean, also contains 10.3 billion barrels of recoverable oil, according to a U.S. Geological Survey estimate.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), the new chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, was disappointed by the proposal, calling it a “stunning attack on our sovereignty and our ability to develop a strong economy that allows us, our children and our grandchildren to thrive.”
In the News
Cornyn introduces bills to reform FWS settlements, listing process. E&E News (sub req’d). Republican lawmakers earlier this week revived a pair of bills opposed by environmentalists that would amend the law that seeks to protect rare animals and plants from extinction. The bill with the most GOP support is Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn’s “Endangered Species Act Settlement Reform Act,” or S. 293. Text of the legislation has not yet been publicly released, but a similarly named measure introduced by Cornyn last session sought to require Interior to provide notification of when ESA suits are filed and would have set a lower standard for when outside groups can intervene
Enviros petition FWS to designate habitat for 9 species. E&E News (sub req’d). The Fish and Wildlife Service has shirked its legal responsibility by not designating critical habitat for nine endangered species, according to a new petition from environmentalists. The petition — from the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) — asks FWS to designate as many as 3.2 million acres as critical to the species. Such petitions require the agency to respond within a reasonable amount of time on whether the action may be warranted. CBD has filed many petitions over the years to push FWS to list species and designate habitat. The species listed in the latest petition have been waiting for critical habitat designations for an average of 25 years, according to CBD. They are the roseate tern (a seabird), Shenandoah salamander, Roanoke logperch (a fish), Hay’s spring amphipod (a crustacean), two tiger beetle species and three species of freshwater mussels.
BLM proposes removal of western juniper from public lands. Messenger Index. In support of collaborative West-wide efforts to conserve sage-grouse habitat, the Bureau of Land Management announced a proposal to treat or remove early-stage encroachment of Western juniper on public lands in a 1.5 million-acre area of Owyhee County in southwest Idaho. The proposal requires an environmental impact statement, under the National Environmental Policy Act, to analyze potential impacts. The BLM is requesting public scoping comments regarding potential resource issues to be addressed in that analysis for the next 30 days. The project reflects the federal government’s ongoing cooperative efforts with western states to develop and implement a landscape-level conservation plan for the greater sage-grouse, a candidate species for listing under the Endangered Species Act.
Feds increase number of smelt that can be killed in Calif. Delta. E&E News (sub req’d). Federal wildlife officials have increased the number of endangered fish that can be killed in California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, in response to water managers’ request for more flexibility as the state’s historic drought continues. At issue is accidental trapping of the endangered delta smelt, a small fish that inhabits the main water delivery hub for the state’s massive system of canals, pumps and reservoirs that supplies 25 million people and 3 million acres of farmland.
Advocates seek new status for gray wolves in Lower 48 to avoid Congressional intervention. Associated Press. Wildlife advocates have petitioned federal officials to reclassify gray wolves as a threatened species, hoping to retain at least some protections that lawmakers in Congress want to repeal. Wolves are classified as endangered across most of the lower 48 states except the Northern Rockies. “Endangered” is a more protective listing than “threatened.” Brett Hartl with the Center for Biological Diversity said Tuesday’s petition asking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to downgrade the animals’ status is meant to pre-empt congressional intervention. NOTE: Spokesman-Review and E&E News (sub req’d) also report.
